Banker Alan, 57, starts new career as train driver

A proud Alan Nichols after going solo as a train driver for the first time.

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At the age of 57, Alan, of Dene Place, Goldsworth Park, believes he is the oldest newly- qualified train driver in the country. In 1965 he joined the National Westminster Bank which was to be the start of a long career in finance. After 10 years in the City and 23 in the West End, including 13 as a Saturday manager at the Camberley Branch, he took an early-retirement package from his final post at Victoria Management Suite as a personal banking manager. He then spent two years as a bursar at Halstead Preparatory School in Woking before seeing a job advert that would change his life. South West Trains was advertising for trainee drivers and Alan applied, not expecting to be offered an interview. However, two years later and after a complex selection process where more than 2,500 applicants were whittled down to 144, Alan began training for his new career at the age of 55. He said: “Having crashed through the 50-year glass ceiling in the bank, I was delighted to find that South West Trains and other operators have a more enlightened attitude towards ageism.” The interview process consisted of a large amount of learning and a series of tests on reaction, memory, concentration, aptitude and rules and regulations. Following that, Alan started the learning process at the training school in Basingstoke. There he learned personal track safety such as how the various types of train are driven, work and how faults and failures can be repaired. He passed each element of the course with distinction and was then ready for his first driving session accompanied by an instructor. Alan had to tackle cross-country services and a rush-hour train from Portsmouth Harbour to Waterloo with 12 coaches, 3,000 horsepower, 500 tons behind, including 1,000 passengers. After 11 months Alan had completed more than 225 supervised hours and 40 dark hours and was ready for his final three-day assessment. On August 7 last year, he received his EP key — the equivalent of a car’s ignition key — and driving licence and this month he completed his first solo drive. Becoming a train driver is the realisation of a boyhood dream for Alan who was an avid train-fanatic from a young age. He said: “Where I was born we had the London Charter past the end of the garden in the days of steam. “I went to school and work by train and I have been a commuter for 41 years since. “I probably had my first train set for my seventh or eighth birthday and my passion just grew. “As my interest grew, the train set grew. I was a train-spotter up to the age of 16 then other things come on the horizon. “But I always had a keen interest in trains.” Alan admits he still has a train set, though he has less time to spend with it now. He says his new career has given him a new lease of life and added: “If anybody had asked me years ago if I would be looking forward to working beyond 55 I would have said ‘no way.’ “Now if there is the prospect of driving trains for the next eight years I will go on and do it.” About his job, he explained: “At the end of the turn, once the key is off I can go home and relax without worrying about targets. “My wife Susan thinks it is fantastic as I have too much energy to sit around.” As for the banking, Alan is chairman of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and continues to meet up with old colleagues four or five times a year.